Sweet Nothings
by fangirlamanda
Summary: "Emily never thought in a million years that she'd be falling asleep in Aaron Shores arms, yet somehow, here she was, and she couldn't be any happier." Multi-chapter Emron fic.
1. The Argument

It's just a Press Corp function, what could go wrong?

That's what Emily had asked Aaron when he'd expressed a disinterest in attending, but now she was ready to eat her words.

Things had been tense between them since his return to the White House, not that she didn't enjoy having him around- she really did. But they had been unintentionally wary of each other in the past few weeks.

However, they'd made an unspoken agreement to stick together that night, each for their own reasons. Aaron, so he'd have back up if a reporter ambushed him, and Emily, hoping that he'd feel less nervous about getting ambushed, and also thought it would show that the former and current COS were on good terms.

Reporters had been coming up to them all night, but they had all been asking routine questions: What subject in the agenda are you most focused on at the moment? What's your take on Kirkman's relationship with the American people? Any new names for potential Cabinet members? What about Vice President?

Things seemed to be going smoothly up until a reporter did decide to ambush them. After that, things seemed to take a turn for the worst.

"Hi. Mr. Shore, Ms. Rhodes, my name is Amelie Layton from the Chicago Tribune. It's so nice to finally meet you both," she greeted them with one of those reporter fake smiles, extending her hand to them both.

The two both shook her hand said it was nice to meet her too.

She thought Amelie seemed like a total snake in the grass, and luckily Aaron seemed to pick up on that as well.

"I hope you don't mind, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions?"

Emily could sense that Aaron was nervous, but that was more of a sixth sense she'd developed over time. His body language didn't show it.

"No, not at all," Emily replied, forcing a smile.

"Okay, so first question: What's it like being back in the White House after your resignation?" she asked Aaron.

Unfortunately, that was only the first sign of trouble.

"Uh, well, I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. Working here feels a lot more natural since I served in our late President Richmond's staff as Deputy Chief of Staff. Special Advisor has most of the same duties as COS, just without the office," he joked.

Amelie laughed and moved on to the next question.

"How does it feel for the both of you having basically switched positions?"

Emily was the one to answer.

"I think it sometimes feels a bit odd, just hearing the other's name associated with our former titles."

"Yes, I could definitely see why," Amelie said. "Mr. Shore, if you could regain your title as Chief of Staff, would you?"

Aaron had been asked this question multiple times since his return, and before now he'd just said he wasn't sure. But this time, the current Chief of Staff was standing right next to him. He knew what his answer would be from the very first time someone had asked him, but he hadn't wanted to go into that with them at the moment. Now, he really had no choice.

"To me, the title doesn't really matter. Of course it's important, that's not what I mean. I came to Washington to help people, and I believe that I can be just as efficient with the title of Special Advisor as I could with Chief of Staff. I also think Ms. Rhodes is doing an excellent job in that position," he said, not really answering the question. He'd learned that technique from Seth and other past Press Secretaries.

"Alright. Now, on the topic of your aforementioned resignation, what were the circumstances surrounding that?"

There it is, Emily thought to herself. Amelie had dropped the bomb that had been looming over their heads all night long.

Emily still felt guilty about all of it. No matter how much Aaron thought she was doing a good job, or that titles didn't matter, he'd still lost the job he loved. She'd gotten the position unfairly, and the investigation had ruined almost any chance they'd ever had at a relationship.

"I'm sorry, but that's a matter of national security," Emily smiled nervously.

"Oh, so it was some sort of internal affair among Kirkman's Inner Circle?" she inquired.

Emily had stepped on the snake in the grass, and it came back to bite her.

"No, that's not what I'm saying, although, I'd like to know where you're getting that assumption from." she replied.

"It must have been for you to have known about it. Mr. Shore, a comment?"

"Like Ms. Rhodes said, the circumstances surrounding my resignation are a matter of national security. That's the best thing I can give you other than a no comment. I think we're done here." Aaron said, turning around and walking away before Amelie could get another word out.

Emily didn't bother to stay behind and apologize to her for him storming off. That was the reaction Amelie was trying to get out of him and they all knew it. Instead she followed him into an empty hallway that was adjoined to the the ballroom.

"Aaron, wait," she called after him.

He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to face her.

"What? What do you want, Emily?" he demanded.

"I want you to slow down for five seconds and realize how acting like that affects all of us. This isn't easy for me either,"

Aaron scoffed.

"Isn't easy for you? Are you actually kidding me?"

"No, I'm not."

"And how is that?" Aaron asked, raising his voice.

"Because I have to dodge questions like that too," she said, matching his volume.

"You aren't the one having your loyalty questioned at every turn. Also, if I remember correctly, this is your fault."

"What?" she asked, the word coming out quiet and strangled as the lump in her throat grew.

"If you had just told me about the investigation in the first place, none of this would have happened," he practically hissed.

He was shocked to see how she was just taking it. She wasn't fighting back or trying to defend herself in the slightest. Little did he know, that's what she'd been telling herself ever since he'd resigned. Emily blamed herself for the entire thing, so there was nothing to defend herself with.

She cleared her throat in a futile attempt to hide her emotions.

"It's getting late I should, uh, probably head home. I'll see you tomorrow, Aaron," she said with a poor attempt at a smile.

It took Aaron approximately five seconds after Emily walked away to start feeling bad about what he'd said to her. Hoping he could catch her before she left, he headed back into the ballroom, trying to dodge reporters as he headed towards the exit. Instead of finding Emily, he quite literally bumped into Seth.

"Hey, man, where've you been? I've been looking all over for you."

"Have you seen Emily?" he asked, scanning the crowd of people behind Seth.

"Yeah, she just left. That's why I was looking for you. She looked pretty upset. Did something happen?"

Aaron sighed and ran his hands down his face in frustration.

"I got mad and said things I shouldn't have. Did she say anything?"

"No, I tried to go over and talk to her but by the time I got there she had left."

Aaron took a deep breath and realized what he needed to do.

"Alright. I'm heading out. Mind covering for me?" he asked, patting Seth on the shoulder.

"And where are you going?"

"I'm going to try to apologize,"

"Good luck, man," Seth chuckled.

"Thanks, I'll need it,"


	2. The Apology

Once she arrived back at home, Emily threw on her favorite oversized sweater and a pair of old running shorts, poured a glass of wine, sat down on the couch, and cried for the first time in what seemed like forever. The last time she'd cried was after Tom was shot, but those were much different circumstances, and it hadn't been like this.

She didn't know what hurt worse: The heart-wrenching guilt she felt over the entire situation or knowing Aaron hated her for it.

Emily wanted him more than she would ever care to admit, but after the investigation, any possibility of a relationship with him was now nothing but a figment of her imagination.

Time seemed to run together as she sat there, and before she knew it, she'd been on the couch crying for 15 minutes.

 _Okay, Rhodes, this is getting pathetic_.

She had only intended on sitting down, letting her tears out, then going to bed, but the waterworks just kept coming, and she couldn't find the motivation to get up.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

It was nearly midnight. Who the hell was at her door this late and why?

She wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and looked through the peephole.

Of all the people who could be standing at the door; Michael Jackson, Oprah, the Queen of England, none seemed any less likely than Aaron Shore.

 _Shit,_ she thought collapsing into the door. She really didn't want him to see her like this.

Reluctantly, Emily opened the door as far as the latch would allow.

"Aaron?" she croaked, her voice sore from crying.

"Hey," he said, giving a small smile when he saw half of her face through the crack of the door. "Got a minute?"

Emily shut the door, unlatched it, then opened it all the way. She leaned against the doorframe. She was so tired she worried she might fall over if she didn't.

Aaron opened his mouth to speak but Emily stopped him.

"Aaron, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for everything," she sighed, staring down at her hands, which were covered by the sleeves of her two-sizes-too-big sweater. The ends of the sleeves were balled up in her fists.

"Em, I came here to apologize. I should be the one saying sorry," Aaron said, stopping her from apologizing any further. He couldn't help but notice that she still looked perfect, even in a giant sweater and shorts, with puffy red eyes. "I wanted to apologize for everything I said. I was angry and I didn't mean any of it,"

"It's okay," she told him.

"How are you not absolutely pissed at me?" he chuckled in disbelief. "You have every right to be."

"After the hell I put you through, I probably deserved it," she sighed.

"God, no. You were just doing your job and I was being an asshole about it."

"And me doing my job cost you yours. I should've just asked you,"

"That doesn't mean you deserved to get yelled at,"

"So, you don't hate me?" Emily asked tentatively.

"Em, I don't think I could hate you if I tried," he said.

She gave a small, genuine smile, before doing the unexpected. Emily stepped forward, slipping her arms under his jacket and wrapping them around him, then burying her face in his chest.

Aaron was taken aback by her advances but decided to go with it, cautiously wrapping his arms around her. He felt more strongly about her than he had anyone ever before, but after the investigation, he figured she wanted nothing to do with him romantically, and he sometimes wondered if she ever had.

"I'm sorry," Emily whispered into his chest.

"I guess that makes two of us," he replied.

His embrace was warm and he smelled good. Emily never wanted to move, but she could feel herself falling asleep, so she slowly began to pull out of his arms. Their faces were so close together, and the next thing she knew, their lips were pressed against each others.

The first kiss was long and slow, and when it ended, they simply looked at each other.

"Yeah, apology accepted," she muttered, standing on her toes and throwing her arms around his neck, then crashing her lips into his.

They stood there for only a moment before Emily began to walk them back into her apartment on tiptoe, Aaron closing the door behind them. She felt his hands slide up the backs of her thighs and without warning, he picked her up. Emily broke the kiss with her giddy laughter, resting her forehead against his as he returned a grin.

"Down the hall, first door to your right," she whispered into his ear.

Aaron followed the directions, carrying her into the bedroom. He managed to take off his shoes in a record amount of time, all the while Emily was pulling off his jacket. He threw it onto the floor before lowering her onto the mattress before him.

It never ceased to amaze her how the rough, aggressive, Aaron Shore who could scare the shit out of any staffer, intern, or reporter, could be so gentle and soft in the way he kissed her.

He brought his hand up and cupped her face. Aaron kissed her everywhere, her lips, her neck, her eyelids, all while whispering sweet nothings and holding her like she was the most precious thing in the entire world. And to him, she was. In that moment, nothing on earth seemed to matter more than the beautiful girl in his arms. For now, she was his, and that was all he cared about.

Emily never thought in a million years that she'd be falling asleep in Aaron Shores arms, yet somehow, here she was, and she couldn't be any happier.


	3. The Morning After

The next morning was probably one of the best in Emily's entire life. Waking up with Aaron was something she could do all the time. She turned around carefully in his arms, trying not to wake him. Emily studied his face under her exploring fingers and realized how different he looked in his sleep. His face didn't show the stress lines of work that it usually did.

" _Ye gods, what are my feelings?_ " she sighed with a smile, quoting the ancient love story of Daphnis and Chloe. Emily reached up and ran her fingers through his curls. Her touch must have woken him up because he began to stir.

"Morning," he muttered, opening his eyes.

"Morning," Emily replied, sounding much more awake.

"What time is it?" Aaron yawned.

She sat up a little to look at the clock on the bedside table behind him.

"7:30," she said.

They were typically expected at work by 6, but Kirkman had planned ahead, knowing that it would take his staff more than a few drinks to get through a Press Corp event, and had told them to be there at 9 instead.

"I need to get up,"

"No, you don't," Aaron sighed, pulling her back down.

"Aaron," she whined in half-hearted resistance as he began kissing her neck. "We have this thing called work, remember?"

"Ten minutes," he mumbled, pinning her down.

"Five," she smirked, flipping them over so she was now on top of him.

"Damn, Em," he nearly gaped at her ability to overpower someone nearly twice her size.

"I grew up with two older brothers. Joey was a linebacker and Nick did MMA, so let's say I learned a few things," she grinned, leaning down and capturing his lips with hers.

They stayed like that for ten minutes instead of five, but Emily wasn't complaining.

"See you at work," she said, stopping at the door.

He leaned down and kissed her one last time, leaving her wanting more.

"Yeah, see you there," he said, smirking at the effect he had on her.

Now 7:45, Emily took a quick shower, did her makeup as fast as possible without messing it up, and got dressed. She decided on a sleeveless pencil dress with a simple black skirt and white bodice.

Upon arriving at work, she didn't even make it to her office before her Deputy, Brenna Anderson, ambushed her.

"We have a briefing in the PEOC," Brenna said, slightly out of breath from catching up to her.

"Right now?" she demanded.

"Yeah. Ava told me that the President said it was urgent. Here, she gave me your materials. I'll take your things to your office and meet you down there. Oh, and I also grabbed you this," she explained, handing Emily the cup of coffee she'd been holding, along with her briefing packet. "Thought you might need it."

"Thank you, Brenna. God, you're a lifesaver," Emily sighed, handing the girl her purse and work bag.

"Don't mention it," she replied.

Brenna was young, only 24, and almost fresh out of law school. She completed her bachelor's degree in Political Science at Georgetown in only two years, her law degree from Harvard in three, along with having two summers of Senate internships and a year of being an attorney in the Office of the Legislative Counsel under her belt. She was also incredibly charismatic and had become more of a friend to Emily than her Deputy.

Emily didn't see Aaron until arriving in the PEOC, he sat in the seat closest to Kirkman, and she sat beside him, an empty seat to her right which was reserved for Brenna. Her Deputy came in only a few minutes later.

"It appears as if everyone is here. Admiral, you may begin." Kirkman announced.

"Thank you, sir," Admiral Chernow said, standing up. "At approximately 2:30 a.m, the United States embassy in Manila was attacked by a local terror group aligned with the Islamic State. The terrorists stormed the building and now have it under siege. Ambassador Marcus Emerson was freed and given a message to relay to us. We received a call from him around 4 a.m reporting what had happened. To his knowledge, casualties were minimal, however, they are currently holding everyone in both embassies for ransom,"

"In exchange for what?" demanded Secretary Moss, who sat to the other side of Kirkman, along with Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

"All US military action in Syria must cease and all personnel must be withdrawn from the country."

"Well there's no way in hell that's happening," Aaron piped up.

"And that's exactly the problem,"

"Then what do suggest we do?" Kirkman asked.

Chernow looked down at the man sitting next to him and nodded, sitting down as the other man stood.

"Mr. President, General Donovan Lewis, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs," he introduced himself. "I propose using Navy SEALs,"

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, but don't you think that's only going to further endanger the lives of the hostages?" Emily interrupted.

"I don't suppose you have a better idea?" he snapped back.

Emily's fists clenched and her shoulders tightened. She was already tense before, but this was only making it worse.

"I could probably think of one that wouldn't put the lives of even more American citizens in danger,"

"Well, I think I have a bit more military experience than the White House Chief of Staff,"

"Right now it doesn't really-"

"Em, that's enough." Kirkman said, stopping her mid-sentence. "I agree with Ms. Rhodes, General Lewis,"

Suddenly, Emily felt another hand on top of her clenched fist under the table. Aaron had noticed how tense she was. She visibly relaxed almost immediately, her shoulders loosened and her fists unclenched. She turned her open hand over and intertwined her fingers with his.

"Did the terrorists give a set amount of time?" Aaron asked.

"Yes. We have 48 hours to respond before they begin executing the hostages. After the 48 hours are up, they'll begin executing one every hour, then two, then three, and so on and so forth." Admiral Chernow explained.

"Alright. Admiral, General, you have 12 hours to get back to me with a plan I can agree on. Also, nobody here talks to any press of any kind about this, understood?"

The people around the table all said collectively "Yes, sir".

"Good," Kirkman said, standing up and walking out.

She let go of Aaron's hand before standing and gathering her materials. The two of them and Brenna got into the elevator with the president.

"Despite what's happening, things need to be business as usual around here. Aaron, I need you to draft a memo for Seth about the situation in the Philippines. Emily, I just need you to stay focused on pushing for the new Healthcare bill. I believe that bill is going to benefit millions of low-income families if it goes through."

"Of course, sir. I have meeting with Senator Michelle, Chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, scheduled for 5 pm. I'm also meeting with both majority leaders tomorrow at noon and 2 pm."

"Good, thank you." he said as the elevator dinged.

Aaron headed to his office to write the memo, while Emily headed to hers with Brenna.

"What the hell was that?" Brenna gawked as soon as the door closed, wide-eyed.

"What?"

"You and Aaron," she said, Emily's stomach dropping. "How long has that been going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she lied, pretending to be indifferent.

"Don't give me that. First of all, when it comes to him, you have absolutely no poker face. Second, I also heard from Seth that Aaron left to go find you last night." Brenna said with a quirked brow.

"That proves absolutely nothing," Emily stated, not even looking up from the file she was leaning over.

"Oh, and I also saw you holding hands under the table."

Emily groaned putting her head in her hands.

"I knew it," Brenna exclaimed excitedly. "Seth owes me $200."

"You guys bet on our relationship?"

"Yes, but that's not the point. How long has this been going on?"

"Long before you got here," Em mumbled.

"Seriously? It didn't seem like anything was actually going on between you guys since recently."

"Well, because it wasn't, exactly. We ended up making out on the couch over there the night of the MacLeish confirmation. The next day we were going to go out, but everything went to shit immediately after. It's part of the reason he resigned. I'll tell you about it sometime but it's too long of a story for right now." she explained, being bluntly honest.

"Wait, so last night did you guys-"

"No." Emily interrupted before she could get any farther. "We got into an argument and I left last night. He showed up at my door and we exchanged apologies. We just kissed and fell asleep. And if you promise not to tell anyone other than Seth, I'll let you tell him about it and rub it in his face."

"Deal."

"Alright, now let's get to work," Emily chuckled.


End file.
